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Viability issue for poppies bottom 25 per cent

A Tasmanian poppy field near Longford. Local growers say there is no need for imports.

Damien McIntyre: ABC News

GlaxoSmithKline's is progressing a strategy to quit low-yielding farms in Tasmania and start commercial poppy growing in Victoria next year.

But that's not the outcome farmers were looking after a year of Tasmanian government poppy industry strategy talks.

The strategy meetings officially end tomorrow with a final session scheduled in Hobart involving both growers and processors.

Poppy Growers Tasmania says the talks have clarified pharmaceutical industry plans to start commercial alkaloid crop production in Victoria, with Tasmania's two biggest processors both stating that's their intention.

GlaxoSmithKline Australia's Opiates Division general manager, Steve Morris, says GSK is continuing to conduct field trials in Victoria and the next set of trial results will be pivotal to its decision to grow there in 2014.

"It's no secret that GlaxoSmithKline back in 2009 ran a small trial in Victoria," he said.

"We were vey open with growers and government at that time about what we were doing and why.

"Those plans are still there, we're still progressing them.

"There are quite a few things that have to happen before we make a decision to commercialise anything outside Tasmania and so we're continuing to do trials in Victoria.

"There's some science and some economics to go through before we make our final decisions on which way to go...so we can make a decision in time for 2014 sowing."

GlaxoSmithKline produces 20 to 25 per cent of the world's licit narcotics supply from 9,000 hectares in Tasmania.

Steve Morris says the company is on track to contract that area in Tasmania for its 2013 sown crop.

But Mr Morris says the bottom 25 per cent of crops Tasmania may not be viable once other areas become available.

"Some of the richer land in Tasmania is amongst the richest, most productive land in Australia.

"So I think good growers in Tasmania will continue to have those options available to them to grow poppies.

"I think at the margins though, like any enterprise you have to make tough decisions every year as to what you're going to do.

"I think there is marginal land that is being pushed into [poppies].

"The lowest quartile of growers are three times less productive than the highest quartile.

"That's a 300 per cent difference.

"That is a big difference I think you'll agree.

"That's something we've turned our minds to to see if there are other options to increase the overall productivity of our crop."

"Ultimately growers and producers alike will have to make some decisions about what we do in those marginal areas.